My
Union Right or Wrong.A history of the Ship Painters and Dockers Union
1900-1932
By Issy Wyner
2003

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William O'Keeffe

Among the most vocal and active members of the Union, from the
time of his joining, was WILLIAM O’KEEFFE, accepted as
a member at the meeting on 20th April, 1925, after leaving the
Sheetmetal Workers’ Union. He soon gained a reputation for
being able to recite any rule in the Rule Book, which he never
ceased to do at meetings. For some reason unknown to the writer
(who came to know him in later years), he also came to be known as
"Dirtbox"` O’Keeffe.

With less than 12 months’ membership in the Union,
O’Keeffe nominated for the position of President in the
December half-yearly elections.

The Secretary took the point that Mr. O’Keeffe was not
eligible to run for office according to Rule 6 as he had not been a
working member for a period of twelve months or more.

The President ruled that because O’Keeffe had joined
the Union before the revision of Rules he was eligible.

O’Keeffe stated that he had resigned all office in the
Sheet Metal Workers Union and he was not representing anyone on the
Labor Council.

Undeterred by his novice standing as a Painter and Docker,
O’Keeffe entered the debate on a proposed agreement worked
out by the Labor Council’s "Jock" Garden, for Painters and
Dockers on strike at Mort’s Dock. He opposed acceptance of
the agreement, which provided for permanent hire, and which the
meeting decided to accept. (Minutes,
5/1/1926)

At the half-yearly meeting, a week after this issue, the
President questioned O’Keeffe on whether he held office in
any union or whether he represented another union on the Labor
Council. To this questioning, O’Keeffe responded that he had
resigned all offices he had held in the Sheet Metal Workers Union
and that he did not represent anyone on the Labor Council. Weston
then ruled, as he had done at a previous meeting, that
O’Keeffe’s nomination was in order. (Minutes, 11/1/1926)

But, Bill ("Snowy") Davis then asked whether
O’Keeffe’s nomination failed to comply with the Rule
requirement for nominees to be working members for at least twelve
months. To this, the President replied that his previous ruling
must stand, since O’Keeffe was not a member of the Union when
the Rule was changed. However, the President expressed concern over
the fact that, at the Labor council meeting he had spoken to
O’Keeffe who had stated that he was a representative of the
Sheet Metal Workers Union, which O’Keeffe now claimed was
stated in jest. From this statement Harry Simon moved and Albert
Fisk seconded

That Mr. O’Keeffe’s name be removed from the
Ballot papers.

And the meeting carried the motion.

O’Keeffe joined the moves for establishment of a union
office on the Sydney side, when another member (R.Robinson) moved
for an "Assistant Secretary or Vigilant Officer" to be
appointed for the Sydney side. As on other occasions when this
matter was raised, it was defeated, but this time on an amendment,
which deferred its consideration for three months, carried by 75
votes to 15. (Minutes, 25/1/1926)

A radical proposal from O’Keeffe came before the meeting
in March, when he proposed that

all meetings shall be opened for the transaction of business
at 9.30 a.m. and terminate at 12.30 a.m.

Such a change would have meant that the meetings would have been
held during working hours and thus would be stop-work meetings.
Undoubtedly, the aim was to overcome members being obliged to
attend meetings which were late in finishing and thus made work the
next day more onerous, one of many reasons why members did not
attend meetings. However, an amendment succeeded against
O’Keeffe’s motion, for "the matter to stand over
until the Court decided the issue regarding 44 hours". Since it
was uncertain when the 44 hours issue would be resolved, this
decision seemed equivalent to a defeat for O’Keeffe. (Minutes, 23/2/1926).

In the midst of the strike at Mort’s Dock, when "Jock"
Garden’s solution failed to resolve the issue, a Special
Meeting in May sought to finalise the matter when O’Keeffe
asked the President who had given instructions to call the
meeting

as according to the constitution the Management Committee
should have been consulted and he was of the opinion that the
officials should be censured.

This led to a debate around an instruction issued by the Labor
Council for the Shipwrights and the Painters and Dockers to work a
44-hour week including work on Saturday morning "if
necessary". The end result of the whole issue was a decision to
no longer listen to the representative from the Labor Council
and

That no member of the Trades and Labor Council be heard until
next December. (Minutes, 21/5/1926).

A condition which was to become general in future years, was
raised by O’Keeffe, on the subject of payment of wages. He
moved that an approach be made to Mort’s Dock management

for a different system of payment (payment in envelopes
supplied by the bank and the amount to be stated thereon).
(Minutes, 14/6/1926)

It had always been a matter for concern, when men were paid in a
manner which made it difficult to challenge wrong payments. In
later years, the envelope was to contain other information, such as
the base wage, special rates and overtime, tax deductions. But, at
that early stage, O’Keeffe’s motion was carried and the
matter left with Mahony to deal with.

O’Keeffe was a member of the Labor Party for some years
and the Union had elected him as alternate delegate to Jack
McDonald for attending ALP conferences, etc. He belonged to the
Balmain Branch of the Party where he was elected as Returning
Officer for the pre-selection ballots to determine candidates in
the forthcoming parliamentary elections. In that capacity, he wrote
to the Union with a request for the use of the Union hall for the
pre-selection purposes and the meeting on 27th June, 1927, granted
the request.

Ever involved with Union activities, O’Keeffe was elected
as the Union’s Auditor (the general practice of unions in
that period being for the auditing of union books to be done by
elected members.) In that capacity O’Keeffe presented a
report on the Union’s finances and suggested that a new
system of receipting members’ contributions should be
introduced. The system he suggested was that in use in Victoria,
where duplicate receipts were printed, one part being attached to
the Membership Card and the other retained for auditing purposes.
It was decided that his suggestion should be examined by the
Management Committee. (Minutes,
11/7/1927)

To ensure that the matter was not forgotten, he gave notice of a
motion to introduce the duplicate receipt book system and to set
union contributions at six shillings per quarter payable in
advance. However, some time went by before the matter came before a
meeting, and in that interim, O’Keeffe was appointed as
Collector "for the whole of Mort’s Dock, including
Rosney’s Gang" (Minutes,
17/10/1927.)

Being the Union’s Auditor was not acceptable to the whole
membership, as indicated by the incident in 1928

At this stage Mr.E. Murphy and Mr. P.McDonald entered the
Hall. Mr.P.McDonald wished the suspension of standing orders to
take exception to the appointment of W.O’Keeffe as an
Auditor, owing to him being an official collector of the Union and
that he would be auditing his own books. The President ruled that
he was not auditing his own books but the books of the Secretary
and that he had been appointed by the Branch the previous
meeting…..

Mr. Murphy also took exception to Mr. O’Keeffe. The
President requested him to retire owing to the state in which he
was in, under the influence of liquor. Mr. Murphy stated that he
would leave it in the hands of the Branch whether he was under the
influence of liquor or not. When the President again informed him
to retire he made use of a filthy expression, but later apologised
to the President. The President accepted the apology. Mr.Murphy
then began to fight with another member. The President insisted on
him retiring from the meeting. He did so. (Minutes, 9/7/1928.)

At the same meeting, an attack was made on some of the members
of the Management Committee who seemed to have been missing
meetings without offering apologies or excuses. In the midst of the
debate, O’Keeffe moved that in future, officials be required
to sign an "appearance book every meeting night", and the
meeting carried this.

O’Keeffe then moved the motion of which he had given
notice at an earlier meeting,

That the Sydney Branch of the Ship Painters and Dockers Union
withdraw its affiliation from the A.L.P.

This drew the ire of ALPers like the Secretary, Jack McDonald
and Bill Swadling, and when put to a vote, it was defeated, on a
division, by 23 votes to 16. Though a small meeting, the vote was
indicative of a strong sentiment of disaffection with the Labor
Party and the Labor Government of the day.

Still in militant mood, in August, O’Keeffe raised the
matter of unemployed members rostering for work. His proposal,
seconded by Jackson, was simple and limited to one yard, but
nevertheless expressed the essential principle on how to overcome
many of the problems experienced by individual members and by the
Union in the existing non-system. He moved

That a ballot of members be taken for the purpose of bringing
into force the Rotary System of Employment at Mort’s
Dock.

In presenting his motion, he argued that

owing to the unfair methods adopted in the selection of men a
number were getting a great amount of work and that others were
getting practically nothing at all, also that the membership of the
Organisation was getting greater and the work was becoming less,
and he thought that the Rotary System would be the fairest way of
distributing the work.

This evoked a wide debate, with the more nervous types
visualising dangers from what was a radical step in industrial
relations. But, undoubtedly, O’Keeffe had opened the way for
the general roster system which was eventually introduced almost 20
years later. His proposal was carried by the meeting and
arrangements set in train to conduct the ballot before the end of
the month. (Minutes, 6/8/1928.) (See, too,
chapter on Unemployment which includes re the Roster)

Without giving any reason for doing so, in October,
O’Keeffe tendered his resignation as Collector at
Mort’s Dock. The resignation was accepted "with
regret".

O’Keeffe’s generally militant approach to issues
confronting the Union, was extended to the attitude towards a union
with which there was a continuing hostility, when he moved to
support the Operative Painters Union in its demand for members to
be picked up at their Union Office

instead of having to seek employment on the waterfront. they
having to stand outside the wharves for hours on the off chance of
picking up a job.

While the meeting carried O’Keeffe’s motion of
solidarity with the Operative Painters, it must have been done with
a wry smile and remarks about Painters and Dockers being subjected
to this type of indignity for many years, during which they made so
many efforts to civilise job-seeking, often with little or no
support from other unions. (Minutes,
14/9/1931.)

In another direction, he moved that use of the Union Hall be
granted to the Women’s Vanguard, free of charge, "for the
purpose of holding a dance to assist the local unemployed women and
girls". His motion was carried, although the law forbade use of
unlicensed premises for commercial purposes. This, however, was
circumvented by the simple device of making no charge for entry but
requesting a donation to the cause. (Minutes,
14/9/1931.)

When the Union decided to be represented at an anti-fascist
conference, O’Keeffe was elected, together with E.Murphy, as
its delegates. (Minutes, 12/10/1931.)

Among the indignities heaped on unemployed workers seeking
Government assistance was a new set of regulations introduced which
required completion of an application form containing questions
concerning the applicant’s personal history. The Labor
Council had decided to send a deputation to the Government to
protest against the new system. O’Keeffe reported that the
ALP was also sending delegates to join the deputation and suggested
that the Union should also participate and the meeting adopted his
motion. (Minutes, 26/10/1931.)

With the announcement by Charles Weston that he was resigning as
President and from all other positions in the Union, and setting
off for England where his father had died and left his mother
without support, O’Keeffe defeated four other candidates
(including Bill Swadling) for the positions of President and
delegate to the Federal Council of the Union. On his election he
announced to the meeting that

he would do his best to carry out the positions without fear
or favour to any particular section. (Minutes,
29/2/1932.)